The Almighty
by Frizz.22
Summary: Power hungry and bitter, Alina steps out wanting to get to the top. Enter Sarah, a traveller from the region of Sentas, determined to get to the root of the dark activities that are going to shake Kanto to it's core...   ft.characters from other fic: Btb
1. A Phoenix Rising From The Ashes

_Hi. This is just an idea for a story I'm toying with, and I wanted to know what people thought of it, any advice or suggestions. You know the kind of thing. My other story is still my main focus though, like I said, this is just an idea. Thanks for reading and I'd love any feedback :)_

* * *

The Almighty

Chapter 1

It's funny. After something is gone, you look at it in a different light. As I walked down the rubble-strewn street I gazed up at the ruins of the place I had grown up in. Back then it wasn't much cleaner, litter still blotted the streets, bad smells hung in the air. But the houses were still standing back then.

Looking back, I know my parents did what they could for me. But I didn't care, they should have tried harder. It was their fault they ended up where they were-stuck in dead end jobs-barely able to support themselves, let alone a child. I never cared for them. I just wanted to get away, get more powerful. Power is everything. It is the way forward. If you force yourself to the limit, become the most powerful you can be, who can stand in your way? That was always my dream. To become almighty. Who cares who tries to stand in your way when you can just flick them aside like an annoying fly?

I guess it's my attitude that got me where I am today. Some people called me careless, selfish. I see it as determination. I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't that way. Then again, I can think of better situations I could be in. But I better start from the beginning.

* * *

For me, it started in my 15th birthday. I woke up with that expected anticipation, but it was marred by anger, disappointment. I knew there was no possible way my parents would have gotten me the pokemon I wanted. They probably couldn't afford more than a mere Caterpie. They should have tried harder in life.

Taking the stairs slowly, I thought about what I might get. Much to my frustration, my mind kept straying to a vision of me commanding a mighty dragon, which I knew to be wishful thinking. Dragons were extremely expensive.

"Hi honey! Are you excited?" my mam asked enthusiastically. Her tone disgusted me. I didn't humour her by saying yes. Why lie? I merely shrugged.

"Oh I bet you are," she smiled. I was going to ignore her, when I thought of one reason why I was excited.

"Yeah, your right. I'm pretty excited to be leaving this dump," I said simply. As I watched her face fall I felt a small sense of satisfaction, it was her fault she lived here after all.  
"Well, your pokemon is in the kitchen. She's a bit... Well it's all we could manage," she made a feeble attempt at a smile.

"Thanks," I said bluntly. Without another glance at her I walked into the kitchen and stared at my new pokemon. My first pokemon. The small furry thing stared right back at me, challenging me. It's tail was bristled and it had a serious underbite, with two pointed fangs protruding from it's jaw. No rush of emotion swept over me; no overwhelming urge to run over and hug her possessed me; but I felt something. Something small stirring inside me, like a small phoenix trying to push through the ash.

Phoenix.

The name stuck in my head. But no. It would be absolute madness to name a Poochyena Phoenix. I shook the thought out of my head and refocused on the small pokemon. She had a skinny, wasted look about her, but a defiant glint gleamed in her eye. She looked like a stray picked up off the street.

"Phoenix," I whispered, toying with the name on my tongue. The Poochyena perked up at the sound of my voice.

"You like that name?" I asked. I don't know what I expected, a nod or a tail wag? Instead she just stared at me with an inquisitive look.

"Nah, there's no way I can call you Phoenix," I said, more to myself than the Poochyena. But she's my pokemon, so I could call her what I wanted couldn't I?

Sinking to the floor, a silent battle raged in my head-over my pokemon's name. How would I become the almighty person I wanted if I couldn't even achieve this one simple task? As I sat there, my pokemon sidled cautiously over to me, her nose twitching as she sniffed me. Not wanting to scare her, I stayed still until she got used to my scent. Her tail relaxed and she edged even closer before resting her head on my lap. A smile crept over my face, suprising even myself. Sure, this little guy looked scrawny and weak, but she had guts. I could tell. It was at that moment when the full extent of what had to happen if I was to become more powerful hit me. It meant work. Hard work. Unlike the lazy, good for nothing bums that lived around here, I would rise to the challenge and make something of my life. I would break free of the hovel I called home and never look back. But I wouldn't get there without determination, hard work and the scrawny little Poochyena sitting at my side.

"Like a phoenix rising from the ashes," I whispered, absent mindedly twisting her fur around my fingers.

"You're my phoenix,"

After I said that, the name cemented itself in my head.

She was my Phoenix from that day on.


	2. Digletts can be scary too!

The Almighty

Chapter 2

I walked out of the house without a second glance. I stared down the street and out into the distance where Saffron city stood, waiting for me and Phoenix. The buildings stood tall, reaching for the sky just like those that worked there. Never settling for second best-always striving to become better. That's where Silph Co. was situated. I remember a few years ago when the Rockets took over the city; they had hidden out in my town before hand. I have to say, I don't blame them for seeking refuge in that town; it lies in a concealed area just south of route 8, nicely tucked away between Saffron and Lavender Town. Hardly anyone knows about it. Apart from evil organisations like Team Rocket, but they've probably got spies all over the place. But it's a dump of a town. I wouldn't be suprised if half the people in Team Rocket come from there, it's just basically a run down group of houses. But the Rockets didn't scare me, they were just a bunch of dead beats who had nothing better to do with their time than terrorize people.

But there was a problem. Phoenix was obviously a scrawny little pokemon with hardly any experience: no match for the pokemon around here. And since my parents were useless they had no money to get me a lift to Pallet or Viridian. I'd have to make my own way there even if it killed me. But I knew it wouldn't.

"So which way should we go?" I found myself asking the Poochyena at my side. I was thinking that we should go south to Diglett Cave then go straight through so we ended up near Pewter City. Phoenix just looked at me, so I walked down to the entrance, luckily enough not to encounter any pokemon on my way. The mouth of the cave loomed over us, like the mouth of a giant ready to swallow us whole. The thought intrigued me and I stepped forward to take my first step towards success when a sharp whine stopped me. I looked down slowly, wondering what was up with Phoenix, only to find out she wasn't by my feet. My black hair flicked around my jaw as I turned my head sharply to see where she was. She was several yards behind me, crouching low to the floor and shaking like a leaf, staring fearfully into the mouth of the cave.

"Phoenix it's just a cave. Come on, let's go," I walked over to her and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, trying to get her inside the cave without dragging her. The closer we got, the more she shivered, until her lips curled up, revealing all of her sharp teeth and a pink gum. She looked positively demented. She did warn me by growling, but I didn't listen to her.

"Stupid pokemon, it's only a cave!" I scolded, getting impatient. I almost had her into the cave (I admit, by that point I had resorted to dragging her), her growling had reached an intense pitch and she was glaring at me threateningly. I ignored it.

Then she snapped her jaw open and bit down on my hand.

Hard.

I instinctively drew my hand away quickly, but her jaw was so strong she remained attached. Quickly, she let go and looked up at me with hard eyes. Holding my bleeding hand, I looked down at her with wonder. We stared at each other for a few seconds until a shout made me turn around,

"Oh my god are you okay?" a young girl asked me loudly, rushing over and staring at Phoenix reproachfully. I took an instant dislike to her.

"I'm fine," I said blankly.

"But that thing just bit you. Bad pokemon!" she turned and pointed her finger right in Phoenix's face, shouting at her forcefully. Within a second I tackled her to the floor, fist raised ready to punch her.

"Don't you _ever _shout at my pokemon," I threatened, filling my voice with as much venom as I could. I wasn't angry at Phoenix, it was entirely my fault. I wasn't going to have some stranger shout at her for something that wasn't her fault.

"B-But she bit you!" the girl said, obviously terrified,

"I don't give a damn!" I snarled as I flexed my fist. The girl eyed it in fear,

"You're mad! You're both mad!" she all but shouted. That did it. I pulled my fist back further, ready to bring it down on her skull when I was pushed to the floor. Rolling onto my stomach, I pulled myself up and looked at who had just stopped me from punching the girl. Which I probably shouldn't have done anyway. It was a boy. He was older than me, about 17 I would guess, maybe 18. His hair was light and bouncy, a stark contrast to my dark poker straight hair. The girl thanked him profusely then ran off, tears in her eyes. I couldn't care less to be honest, she probably had it coming to her anyway. But I couldn't take my eyes off this boy. He had two pokemon by his side, but I don't know what because I couldn't identify species very well at all. It was the expression on his face that intrigued me though. As if he had something to prove. A warm feeling on my leg made me look down and I saw Phoenix pressing herself against me, glancing frequently at the two pokemon. They seemed to give off an auror of power. They must be super strong.

"What level are your pokemon?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Huh?" he said, looking like I'd just pulled him out of a day dream.

"Your pokemon," I said impatiently.

"Oh. Thanks," he said, then walked off. Nice to know people listen to what you have to say. I looked back down at my hand, the blood seeping through the two deep wounds where Phoenix's two huge fangs had punctured.

"Phoenix," I said. She looked up.

"I... I'm sorry,"

Phoenix did nothing, just kept looking at me. I couldn't tell if she could understand me or not, but something told me she could.

It was at that point I realised that it wasn't just me taking this journey anymore. Phoenix was just as important as I was.

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_Go on, click the review button, you know you want to :)_


	3. Exchanging Pleasantries

The Almighty

Chapter 3

After staring at my bloody hand for way too long, I remembered that I was supposed to be walking. The thing was, Diglett Cave was the only route to eastern Kanto I knew, but since that was out of the option, I was stuck. I looked up and saw the blonde haired boy still walking away. He walked very slowly with his hands deep in his pockets, he obviously wasn't in any hurry to get anywhere. I thought about shouting after him and asking him which way I should go, but I quickly pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I didn't want to be stuck travelling with someone other than my pokemon. Relying on people wouldn't get me anywhere-I'd already learnt that the hard way. My other option would be to walk in a random direction for who knew how long until I found a town.

"I'm going to regret this," I muttered to myself before shouting after him. He stopped and turned his head slightly,

"Are you talking to me?" I could barely hear what he had said because he spoke quietly. His pokemon looked at me haughtily, as if they were above me and my little Poochyena. Although her grey fur did look dull and wasted compared to the full, shining coats of the two pokemon at his side. After a few moments of silence it was obvious that he wasn't going to say anything else so I spoke instead,

"Which way should I go to get to Viridian City?" I asked hesitantly-there was a look in this guy's eye that unnerved me.  
"Why would you want to go there? It's full of bugs. They die easily," he spat the last words with contempt and a snarl flashed across his face, before he turned and started to walk again.

"Fine. Just leave me, whatever makes you happy," I growled, angry at myself. I knew that I couldn't count on some stupid stranger, but I ignored myself. All that had resulted in was me looking like a fool infront of someone. And I am no fool. But my words made him stop. I noticed his hands weren't in his pockets anymore, they were clenched into fists at his side.

"What did you just say?" he asked through gritted teeth. He sounded... Angry. He had no reason to be angry, and that just made me frustrated.

"Don't you dare snap at me like that!" I snarled, stepping forward instinctively, my face set into a vicious scowl. He then turned around to face me and I realised that he wasn't just angry, he was thinking of something. I could see a glaze in his eyes, something I recognized all too familiarly as the look my mother used to adopt when she would be reliving her past, the mistakes she made, and when she would think of the future she would never have. That look made me even angrier. I hated it when people kept dwelling on the 'what ifs'. And me being angry never turned out well. Phoenix must have sensed my feelings as she stepped in front of me, her hackles raised right up.

"You really think you can stand a chance against my pokemon?" the boy sneered while his two pokemon stepped forward. One of them looked like it could have been smiling, a glint was in it's eye that I didn't like. I didn't care. I hated people who acted like they were better than me, it happened all the time just because of where I came from. I wasn't going to stand for a total stranger looking down on me either. After years of attacking people who angered me, I forgot I had a pokemon. I forgot the person I was angry with had two. And I flew at him, ready to attack.

Too bad his pokemon were too fast for me. They both leapt, pinning me to the floor and snarling over me, teeth bared. One of them looked as though it was about to attack me with razor sharp claws, but suddenly Phoenix was on top of it, her teeth snapping mere inches from the slim neck of the other pokemon.

"Stop," the boy said darkly, recalling his pokemon. They walked over to his side, leaving me and Phoenix alone. I saw Phoenix crouch low, as if she were about to pounce so I grabbed the scruff of her neck to prevent her from getting hurt. Then the boy and his pokemon turned and walked away.

I was furious. And by the way Phoenix was shaking and baring her teeth, I guess she was furious too.

"C'mon, let's go the other way," I muttered, getting up from the ground and dusting myself off. Another mistake. I was being way too careless. As soon as I let go of Phoenix she sped off into the tall grass, chasing some pokemon I couldn't see.

"Phoenix!" I called, rolling my eyes. Why did I have to get a pokemon that ran off at the first sign of something? But I was thankful that she wasn't running after the crazed blondie. Don't get me wrong, he didn't scare me, I just didn't want any hassle. Not just yet anyway.

* * *

I tramped through the dewy grass, branches scratched my face as I followed my Poochyena. Most other kids would have panicked; trekking through unknown territory without a road or a map infront of you, following your only half-tame pokemon and getting lost in the process. Not me. The way I see it, if your feet are taking you forward then that's all that matters. So that's what I did-I kept going forward. That is until I stumbled over a tangle of grey fur and only just caught myself before I fell head first to the ground. I looked down and saw Phoenix at my feet with a triumphant glint in her eye and a bloody Rattata hanging from her jaws.

"Phoenix," I sighed, kneeling down to take the Rattata (which was still moving) out of her mouth. When my hand moved towards her catch though, she started to growl warningly. As if as a reminder, my hand started to throb where she had bitten me earlier so I backed off and let her bite down on her helpless prey. With a sigh I looked up to see where she had taken us and was greeted by a sign emblazened with the name: Vermillion City.


	4. Dumb Kids

The Almighty

Chapter 4

"Well I guess it's better than nowhere," I said as I walked toward the city. Without any map or compass and with an unfortunate lack of knowledge of where the cities in Kanto are situated, I didn't know if I was any nearer to Viridian or not; then the enormity of my situation hit me. I had no idea about Kanto, the only thing I knew was that Saffron was the second largest city and that Viridian was a good place for starter trainers, and that it lay in the East. I had no idea which way East was. For all I knew, I could have been as faraway from Viridian as possible. And without a pokedex or knowledge of Phoenix's level or the level of the local wild pokemon, I wasn't sure wether I should start fighting any of them yet.

A crunching sound made me look down to see Phoenix tearing apart the small Rattata in her mouth as she ate it. It made me wonder how I would get my food from now on-it was obvious I couldn't buy much with my money-I would have to save that for vital supplies like potions. Not that I had much money anyway, but you know.

"Does that actually taste nice?" I asked, partly for something to do and partly because I was intrigued. She stopped chewing for a second and looked up at me, then saw I was looking at her food and narrowed her eyes, turning her back on me so she could eat it by herself.

"Take it I'll be finding my own food then," I sighed and turned again to look at the city. The first thing I noticed was the water. I had never before seen the sea, the dancing sapphire waves, the frothy white horses lapping at the port and the way the sun glistened on it's surface. A smell of salt hung in the air, tangy and refreshing to my nostrils; birds cawed overhead as they dived into the sea to catch fish or steal food from people walking along the pier.

"It's beautiful," I gasped, staring in awe. Then I caught myself, realising what I had just said. Beautiful was not a word I had used to describe anything before and it sounded strange and unnatural. The pokecentre then caught my eye and I walked towards it, my eyes glancing towards the sea every few seconds as I walked. When I reached the doors I heard an indignant growl and turned to see that Phoenix had not moved. Instead she was poised, ready to spring. A bird was standing infront of her, it was white and blue, with a long beak and a fiesty look in it's beady eyes. It was eyeing my Poochyena's meal with a hungry look and hopped closer, pecking it with it's beak. Phoenix growl intensified and she halted her chewing, her eyes fixed evilly on the pokemon.

"Phoenix," I said hesitantly. I wasn't too sure about what she was capable of and I wasn't sure if she could take on the bird.

I soon found out.

The winged pokemon let out a shriek and flew up into the air then let out a jet of water at Phoenix, who barked her throaty bark and spat the Rattata to the ground in anger. A feeling rose in my chest, a sense of purpose and pride when I looked at my pokemon ready to battle. It dawned on me that this would be my first battle. A smile spread across my face as I stood behind Phoenix, ready to defeat the scrawny bird.

"Phoenix use bite," I said confidently, knowing she had that move from the way she chomped down on that Rattata. I must have been wrong, because she just shot me an incredibly confused luck and got dowsed with another water gun. The smile that was on my face vanished, replaced with a determined snarl.  
"Use another move!" I ordered. The bird had landed on the floor to rest and Phoenix ran into it, slamming it with her body. The bird then flew into the air with a cackle and nosedived towards Phoenix, who quickly jumped out of the way. The bird then swooped up the dead Rattata in it's beak and flew off across the sparkling water, cackling with joy. I just stared after it while Phoenix howled in misery. It was then that I realised that pokemon could be as devious as people.

"You just got owned off a _Wingull!_" a voice laughed. Snapping my head around I saw a kid (well he looked about the same age as me) laughing and pointing at me, evidently finding my pathetic attempt at a pokemon battle hilarious. Too bad I didn't find it so funny.

"Are you laughing at me kid?" I snarled, taking a step towards him.

"Of course I am! You can't even defeat a Wingull and you don't even know what moves your own pokemon has! I saw you battle, it was a complete fail!" he continued to laugh and I felt fury building inside. I was aware of my own stupidity, I didn't appreciate some kid pointing it out though.

"Go away," I growled, glaring at him menacingly.

"Woah, don't get so tetchy! How old are you anyway? You look about 13!" he said, his laugh had died away but a mocking grin remained on his face.

"I'm old enough to beat you up. I'm young enough to get away with it," I threatened, my hands twitching as I controlled the urge to punch him.

"No need to be so unsociable! I was just going to give you some pointers!" he said, pretending to have taken offense.

"I don't need help off a stupid kid like _you_," I spat, then walked off towards the pokecentre, Phoenix walking moodily at my heels.

"You won't get any friends talking to people like that!" he yelled after me. I just stuck my finger up at him and went into the pokecentre.

* * *

I knew I would have to get a pokedex; it was a crucial piece of equiptment for any trainer. So I asked at the desk to see where I could get one from. The lady at the desk was like no one I had ever seen before. Her hair was bubble gum pink, held in two big looped bunches that were tucked neatly away at the nape of her neck. The most suprising thing about her was the warmth that was in her smile.

"I'm sorry darling, you'll have to go to Oak's Lab in Pallet Town for a pokedex," she said, smiling at me again. I really wasn't used to people smiling at me like that. As if I could confide in her. I didn't know wether I should tell her that I didn't know how to get to Pallet Town, it would just show how stupid and weak I was; but something in her smile told me I could tell her, that she wouldn't laugh. She wouldn't judge me.

"I don't actually know how to get there," I admitted, looking closely at her for the sign that she was mocking me.

"Oh that's okay darling, there's a boat in the port that goes there everyday. It's free for trainers so they can access the pokemon lab there easily. It's due to leave at 2 o'clock though, and it's only 11 now. I guess that gives you some time to kill huh?"

"I guess," I nodded and turned to leave.  
"You could at least say thanks you know," someone said. I turned to see the kid who had annoyed me outside. He shook his brown hair from his eyes and smiled mockingly at me. For a second I went to apologise and thank the pink haired lady but I stopped. I was not going to say thanks just because a stupid kid told me I should. Instead I shot him a dirty look and walked out.

* * *

I gazed around me, wondering what I was going to do for 3 hours until the boat came. I figured I should leave the training until I had a pokedex and knew more about Phoenix, so that left nothing else to do. I ended up walking over to the stone edge of the docks and sat down. I took off my shabby trainers and socks then dangled my feet into the water. Phoenix had other ideas. She wasn't content to just sit down, she wanted to be doing something. Suddenly she jumped into the sea, splashing me with the salty water before resurfacing with a Magikarp dangling from her mouth. That seemed to content her and she pulled herself (and the Magikarp) out of the water and lay next to me, crunching noisily on the lifeless fish.

"You like eating don't you?" I smiled, reaching out to stroke her face. She turned her head away from my hand and continued eating, not wanting to be interrupted. I just left her to it and stared out at the sea.

"You know there's a gym in this town?"

I closed my eyes in frustration. Why did the stupid kid have to follow me everywhere?

"Oh, you're ignoring me now are you? That's okay. I'll just talk to myself. Hi, how are you today? I'm fine how are you? Oh I'm okay, I'm just getting ignored off this stupid person though-I think there's some anti-social disorder going on," he rambled on to himself, irritating me.  
"I haven't got an anti-social disorder. I just don't like people," I growled.

"That is a very anti-social stance to have. What's wrong with people anyway?"

"They're irritating and you can't trust them,"

"Oh, so basically you've had a run in with some untrustworthy asswhole and you judge the whole of humanity on one stupid loser?"

"I didn't say that,"

"You didn't have to,"

"Look. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. You can't trust anyone. You might _think _you can, but the fact remains that you can't," I snapped, getting sick of his stupid philosophies.

"Stop being such a pessimist,"

"Stop being such a fool,"

"You don't like me do you?" he laughed.

"Why would I?" I spat. I was right. I had no reason to like him.

"Why wouldn't you?" he asked infuriatingly.

"Just go away," I muttered. He was irritating me now-pulling some sort of personality evaluation thing that I didn't appreciate at all.

"But I'm bored!" he said, suprising me.

"What?" I said incredulously. He was just annoying me because he was bored? I had thought he was analysing me. And I hated being wrong.

"I'm bored," he whined, sounding like a stupid whiney teenage. Which I guess is exactly what he was.

"You are purposely annoying me. Because you're bored," I repeated, every word making me angrier.

"I'm annoying you?"

"Yes," I said bluntly.

"Oh,"

"You can go away now," I told him.

"Whatever," he sighed, getting up to leave. Before he did though, he bent down to stroke Phoenix, who growled angrily at him.

"Woah, you have an unsociable pokemon too. What town did you say you came from?" he asked.

"I didn't," I grumbled.

"So where do you come from? Is it Saffron? I've heard that people from there aren't as polite as people from other towns," he obviously didn't care about offending people. Good job I don't get offended easily.

"I come from near Saffron,"

"_Near _Saffron? How come?" he asked curiously.

"It's a small place, you wouldn't know it," I sighed. I couldn't be bothered to get into the conversation of my hometown. It was a place I wanted to forget.

"Enlighten me," he smiled cockily, lying back on the stone and staring into the sky. I sighed and looked down into the glistening waters swirling around my ankles.

"It's a small place west of Saffron hidden in some trees. It's called Charcoal Village," I scowled, begrudging this kid for getting me to tell him about my hometown.

"Never heard of it," he concluded.

"I told you that in the first place," I snapped, shooting him a dirty look. I didn't get why people didn't just listen in the first place.

"I come from Lavender Town, you know the place where the ghosts are? My sister always got creeped out because of them," he said conversationally, as if I was interested in anything he had to say.

"I really don't care,"

"It's weird because she ended up getting a ghost as her first pokemon. It was a Misdreavus, she went off to find a full team of ghosts. I think she's got three now," he continued as if he hadn't heard me.

"I really really don't care,"

"I don't really know which pokemon I want. Squirtle seems pure awesomeness, but I don't know. I'm planning on getting to Oak's Lab and seeing a pokemon and just knowing that it's mine. At least I hope that's what happens. Ah, either way I'm sure it'll work out. Things always do. Right?" he turned to look at me for an answer, but I wasn't listening. I hadn't been listening since he mentioned something about Oak's Lab. That meant he would be leaving on the boat. Which meant he would be annoying me all day.

Great.


	5. Don't Rock The Boat

_Well I'm more into this story now, so there'll probably be more regular updates for it. _

_Ohh, btw there's gonna be some characters appearing from my other story: Becoming The Best. The two aren't connected too much-there won't be any major plot lines that are affected by the other story, but it'll give you more background about some of the characters, so you could check it ou it you haven't already :)_

_Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it, review if you do! Review if you don't too, then I'll know how to improve. What the heck, just review anyway, you know you want to!  
__:)_

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Chapter 5

After 3 hours of being stuck with the annoying kid, I was ready to throw him off the pier. No matter what I said or did, he wouldn't go away. Everything he said agitated me more and more and by the time the boat pulled in to dock I'd had enough.  
"If you so much as speak one word to me from here on out, then I will rip your eyes out and feed them to the birds," I snarled as I got ready to board. Infuriatingly he just laughed at me and ruffled my hair,

"You make me laugh," he smiled. That was the last straw, my anger reached a boiling point and I tackled him to the floor, punching his chest violently. Next second he pushed me off and pinned me to the floor, he didn't even look hurt.  
"You really need to relax," he smirked, letting go of me and standing up, "Either that or get a stronger punch,"  
I scowled at his remark and wished I was stronger.

He sauntered off coolly and I glared after him. Phoenix got him back for me. She took one look at me on the floor and ran after him to bite down on his leg, causing him to cry out in pain. I stood up with a smile and Phoenix bounded over to me, looking smug.

"Your pokemon just bit me," he said, looking suprised.

"Because she's that cool," I said icily, then walked onto the boat with Phoenix trotting at my heel.

* * *

Turned out the boat ride was going to take about two and a half to three hours; so in the spare time I took a look around the boat. It was big and spacious, with many shops and cafes. There were also many battle rooms and such. I found myseld in a large room that had a huge pokeball printed onto the gymnasium-like flooring and empty stands lining the walls, yet there was not a single other person in there apart from me and Phoenix.

"Peace at last," I breathed, walking over to a bench and sitting down while Phoenix ran around the room sniffing every corner. I don't know how long I sat there for; I could hear the waves gently lapping at the boat and the sound seemed to lull me into a dream like state. Phoenix lay curled at my feet and the peace of the boat ride washed over us as we soaked up the relaxtion of being alone.

* * *

My head snapped up as the boat gave a lurch, all my senses sprang into overdrive and I leapt up. Screams sounded like alarms from the floors above me and loud crashes shook the boat. The lights went out, leaving the room in darkness. Phoenix was already on her feet, her eyes wide as she stared around, searching for danger.

"C'mon Phoenix," I said, starting towards the exit. My heart pounded as I ran across the room, but just as I reached the door it was flung open, striking me in the head and sending me sprawling across the floor painfully.

"There you are Al! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

It was that kid again. At that moment in time I didn't think to shout at him for hitting me with the door and I payed no attention to the stupid abbreviation he'd given my name. I just wanted to know what the heck was going on.

"What's going on?" I asked as he pulled me up from the floor.  
"I don't know exactly, but it's not safe to be by yourself," he told me as we ran along the dark corridor, Phoenix just ahead of me.

"It's not safe at all," a cool voice made us skid to a halt. Phoenix took a step backward so she had a paw on my foot for reassurance. A man stepped out from the end of the corridor, he was tall and had dark hair slicked back, a goatee sprouting from his chin. I found myself smiling at the sight of him-he was such a cliche of a criminal.

"Don't smirk at me girl!" he flared up. I know I should have been scared, but I wasn't. I just kept smiling and took a step forward. I felt a hand on my arm pull me back but I shrugged it off.

"Foolish child," the man sneered, stepping forward himself.

"I am no fool," I snarled, stepping forward again, Phoenix growling by my side.

"Don't!" Kid reached out to pull me back again but I ignored him.

"Listen to your friend little girl,"

"He _isn't _my friend. He's just a kid I met," I said, glaring up into the dark eyes of this strange man.

"Hey! I've already told you, my name's William!"

"And I've already told you, I'm calling you Kid!" I argued,

"That's not fair, I'm older than you!"

"Only by a month!" I turned and flung my arms out to try and emphasise my point.

"ENOUGH!" the man yelled, interrupting us. That's when I realised we had stared arguing when a strange man was possibly threatening us. The smile crept back onto my face as I thought of it.

"You dare mock me?" he asked angrily,

"It's a sin to kill a mockingbird," Kid said, stifling a laugh. I turned to look at him-he utterly baffled me-just before he had been scared and now he was making jokes? Suddenly a loud bang from above made Kid and the creepy man look up, giving us our chance. I quickly grabbed Kid's arm and dragged him forward, aiming to push past the man and run.

As we neared the man however, a pokemon materialised in the darkness next to him, an evil grin on it's face. It's four paws padded silently and deadly, a deep scar ran down it's face over the right eye. Then I noticed it's yellow fur, and I heard it crackling with electricity. Suddenly me, Phoenix and Kid were all blasted backwards by a wicked eruption of elecricity; we sailed through the air, walls collapsing on either side of us. I heard Kid scream my name then I felt myself collide into a wall, the impact sending an intense pain throughout my entire body, before hitting the floor with a thud. I could feel Kid lying next to me, not stirring. Phoenix was close by, her thin fur felt warm under my hand. My head spun as I opened my eyes and found my eye sight was blurred and fuzzy; I saw a demonic looking version of the man walking towards me, a creepy grin on his face.

"So you're Alina are you?" he asked.

* * *

He'd been looking for me? I cursed Kid in my head as I realised he'd been the one to (albeit accidently) tell this man my name. He was just about to reach us when running footsteps came along the corridor and I saw two pokemon and a trainer sprinting this way.

One was small and yellow, the same type as the one the man had, but it had a much nicer look about it-calm and collected, it's fur was full and lush while one that had just attacked us had a thin look to it that made it look almost demonic. The new yellow pokemon flew at the other, trading blows and electricity while it's trainer and her other pokemon-a huge orange dog-came over to see me, Phoenix and Kid.

"It's fine, you'll be okay now-Zen can handle anything," she said, sounding stressed but calm at the same time. How could anyone sound stressed _and _calm? A pitiful whine made me look down at Phoenix-she was bleeding heavily and looked like she was on the brink of death. A chill swept over me like nothing I had ever felt before. It was an icy cold that penetrated right to the core of me, threatening to overwhelm me as I looked down into my pokemon's eyes. I tried to reach out to her, but realised that my arms wouldn't move. With great difficulty I turned my head to see that the entire wall had collapsed on top of us, preventing any further movement.

My head was throbbing, clouding my thoughts as I tried to make sense out of things. With each thought my head threatened to explode, each breath burned in my chest and the pain seemed unbearable. My eyes felt heavier and heavier until I couldn't hold them open any longer and I subdued to the sanctity of nothingness.


	6. Rats!

_Well, it's been a while since I updated, but for some reason it took me quite a long time to get this chapter right. Oh well.  
Hehe, I hope you like it :) OOO and review! Please :)_

* * *

The Almighty

Chapter 6

The first thing that came to mind was pain. Lots and lots of pain. My eyes hurt, my head hurt, my chest hurt, heck even my feet hurt! I forced my eyes open and found myself in a room. It looked like a bedroom, not like my bedroom which just had a bed and a chest of drawers and nothing else. This was a typical bedroom-matching furniture all around, knick-knacks that all obviously meant something to someone cluttered the desk, magazines were strewn carelessly across the floor. And I noticed that the bed I was lying in was unbelievebly comfortable, I was nestled underneath a thick duvet unlike the threadbare blanket I'd had to suffer with for most of my life. Pushing myself up, the first thought that came into my head was:

I need to get out of here.

It was too much. I was in a strangers house, in their own bed! I didn't know whose house I was in, I didn't want to be in someone's room. I wanted to be getting my pokedex so I could get bloody stronger, not holed up in some bedroom! I got all the way to the door when I realised something else. Phoenix wasn't there. My eyes frantically scanned the room and anger bubbled up inside when I saw that someone had taken away my pokemon. My fist connected with the wall in anger and I threw open the door, feeling a fleeting second of satisfaction when it smashed into the wall, then anger seared through me again. I took each step slowly, my anger mounting until I got to the bottom and walked slowly towards a room where I could hear voices. I was trying to stay calm, in the thought that perhaps Phoenix was just downstairs. I opened the door and looked around for my pokemon. My eyes scanned past the three people sitting at a table in the middle of the room, all of whom had stopped talking and were staring at me. After scanning all four corners of the room without any sign of my pokemon, I frowned.

"You should still be resting," a firm voice said. Turning to see who had spoken, I saw a woman who looked careworn but stern, someone who had obviously had more than one child and was used to obstinate children.

"Where is my pokemon?" I asked, disregarding her last statement.

"She's resting, like you should be," the woman said,

"Where? What happened? Where am I and why am I here?"

"Calm down pet, calm down. Come on, you've had a stressful time and you still haven't recovered," a plump woman stood up, she seemed the kind of woman who always wanted something to do, something to fuss over. I wasn't going to let myself be her next little recovery project. I pulled my arm away from her outstretched arm and stared icily at her.

"I don't want mollycoddled, I want answers," I said stonily, eyeing each of the people in turn. The last person was a girl whom I thought I recognised, but I couldn't be sure why.

"Look Miriam, I'm sure she'll be fine. Heck, I've been through stuff worse than this, she's strong. She'll get over it. No worries,"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here. I want my pokemon and I want some answers,"

The girl then turned to look at me. She had flyaway hair that fell in waves about her shoulders, it was frizzy but she seemed to suit it that way. There was something in her eyes that calmed me down; she knew what she was doing, she's been through some stuff before, I could tell just by looking at her.

"I'm Sarah, the one who saved you from the boat. And I'd appreciate it if you a bit more grateful to us for saving your life and taking you in,"

So that's where I knew her from.

"I don't know who they are. I don't know what happened to me. I can't be grateful until I know what you have done to me,"

"You want the facts? Okay then. A leaking gas tank on the boat. It exploded. Or at least that's the story that we're being fed. That's what the media are saying, but I don't believe it. There was something else going on on that boat, something the government either doesn't know about, or doesn't _want _to know about. That man who attacked you for example. He didn't seem to notice that a hole had been blasted in the side of the boat, he was too intent on something else. There were others like him scattered across the place, but they were going around causing chaos, none of them were actually attacking. That's why I knew something was wrong when I saw that man advancing on you. That's why I came here to visit you actually, I was hoping you could shed some light on that," she paused, looking at me expectantly to tell her something.

"What happened after I blacked out?" was my reply. Sarah sighed and carried on,

"Dragoon carried you to safety. He's my Dragonite," at her mention of a Dragonite I felt a shift within me. This girl had a dragon. No, not just a dragon. A huge, powerful, fully grown dragon that had the strength to rescue people from sinking ships. That deserved respect.

"My Pidgeot and Blastoise were helping too, they helped to rescue your friend," Sarah again paused, waiting for me to say something.

"My friend?"

"The boy," she answered.

"Him? Great, he followed me here too... So where am I? And why am I here?"

"Pewter City. These people were kind enough to open their home to you after the accident on the boat. The pokecentres are inundated with casualties at the minute-not just because of the boat. Something's happening in Kanto. Gah, but that's none of your business. You're still a kid-you should be concentrating on that dream of becoming the champ. Anyway, your pokemon's outside. I can see you don't care either way about that boy, nor the fact that these people opened up their home for you. If you are going to go then just leave now. I have no patience for people like you," she spoke harshly, but not as if she were being mean. It was as if she was trying to tell me something about myself. As if I didn't already know I was an ungrateful little wretch. I'd been told that so many times it was boring me. I wasn't ungrateful, there just wasn't anything to be grateful for. I didn't _ask _for these strangers to help me, so why should I thank them? For all they knew I didn't want to be holed up in a stupid old house.

"You have some nerve speaking to me like that," I growled. Then I walked out without bothering to talk to anyone else.

"I hope you treat your pokemon better than you treat people!" Sarah shouted after me. I ignored her.

* * *

Once outside, I heard a pitiful whining from a shed to the right of the house. I found myself getting insanely annoyed. It was one thing to stick _me _in a room, but to imprison my pokemon in a strange shed without me was a whole different story. Storming over to the barn, I flung open the door and saw my Poochyena huddled in a corner, howling at the two Rattata that were bearing their teeth at her. My rage boiled over and I stalked over to the two Rattata, ready to fling them against a wall for ganging up on my pokemon, when Phoenix barked at me. I stopped, which seemed to be what she wanted. After seeing me, she seemed to pick up some courage and lunged towards one of the Rattata with a tackle. It gave a yelp and turned to run outside, but Phoenix wasn't going to let it get away and leapt after it, jaws snapping angrily at it's tail. But then the other Rattata followed, so it only made sense for me to follow suit. Outside, I saw the first Rattata had turned to face Phoenix, baring it's huge incisors, while the other closed in behind her, readying it's bite.

"Phoenix watch out!" I warned, and she swivelled around to face the approching Rattata, but the other jumped and landed a bite attack on her hind quarters. There was no way she could handle both of those little runts. I started forward to pull one of the pokemon away by the purple tail, but Phoenix growled at me again, so I backed off. I stood watching, angry that I couldn't do anything whilst Phoenix battled as hard as she could and was still having trouble. A great rock wall that signified the boundary of the city and the foot of a great mountain rose behind Phoenix and she was backed against it, the Rattata bearing down on her with their huge teeth.

"Phoenix, let me help," I said in a low tone, taking another step forward; she shook her head very slightly, not taking her eyes off her foes. They crept closer and then jumped, both of them attacking her at once. A pained howl pierced the sky and I started forward to help her, regardless of any attacks that would come my way, when another cry rang through the air. I looked up to see a white blur shoot like a bullet to the fight, and suddenly another pokemon was helping Phoenix. It was a white and blue bird that I recognised; it was the same type that stole Phoenix's food in Vermillion.

* * *

Suddenly the tables were turned, water was getting shot at the two Rattata, while Phoenix rammed them repeatedly with her tackle and howled to raise her attack. The two bullies soon realised that the fight was now fair and scurried off. I stared after them, wishing I could have kicked them after their evil ambush of my pokemon. Instead I turned and knelt down to scratch Phoenix's ears,  
"You okay?" I asked. I don't know why I spoke to her, I knew she wouldn't communicate back to me. Looking down at her, I thought about what would have happened if I hadn't turned up; about how long she had been shut up in the shed getting bullied, without me. I made to stand up, intending to march straight into that house and... Well I hadn't thought that far ahead. But a small chirping noise and a pecking on my ankle made me look down, only to find the small blue and white bird pecking at me and making a noise that sounded oddly like a cackle. A cackle that sounded annoyingly familiar.

"Did you follow us here?" I found myself asking this pokemon. Suprisingly and unlike Phoenix, this bird actually responded. It nodded it's head, it's beak twisted into a fiendish grin.

"Why?"

The bird hopped over to me and pecked my hand. I had no idea what that meant, so I just looked at the bird with what I hoped what a curious expression. After a few minutes of frozen silence, I sighed and stood up.

"Come on Phoenix, we'd better make a start to Pallet Town,"

* * *

After visiting the pokecentre to get a free map (which I figured I would be needing from here on out) I figured out we'd have to go through Viridian Forest, which would probably take at least a day, never mind the trek from Viridian to Pallet. With a sigh I folded the map and went to put it away, before realising I had no bag to put it in and unfortunately I had no pockets, since I had put on my grey sweats, my logic being they were comfortable and looked somewhat normal if the bottoms got all ragged. I hadn't thought of needing to store anything. It left me with a sudden realisation.

I had nothing to keep anything useful I might find.

I had no shelter.

I had no money.

I had no food.

I was well and truly screwed.

Staring down at my pokemon, I wondered if she would be able to cope with all of this. Of course she could, she'd been a stray after all. I would get by, somehow. So I started to walk when I heard that cackle again. Turning around, I saw a strange figure sillhouetted against the pale blue of the morning sky; as it grew closer I realised it was the small bird carrying what seemed to be a small over the shoulder bag. A thin strip of rope-like material was attached to another, small square shaped piece that made the bag. It was plain and ropey. But it was a bag. The bird dropped it at my feet and landed on top of it, cocking it's head to the side with a look in it's eye that seemed to say 'did I do good or what?'. I felt myself smile in spite of myself.

"You got this for me? Wow," I found myself marvelling at this little bird. I then turned to look at Phoenix, who seemed to be looking at it with, if I was not mistaken, envy. I patted her on the head so she wouldn't feel excluded, after all she was a great pokemon too. I found myself thinking that pokemon were so much more reliable than people, even myself. This bird had provided me with an essential that even I had forgotten.

"Where did you get it from?" I asked, taking it in my hands and looking at the simplicity of it.

I needn't have asked.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard an angry shout and looked up to see a man running towards me,

"THAT BIRD STOLE MY BAG!" he roared. My initial thought was to give it back, but that was quickly overtaken by the fact that this man probably had enough money to buy another bag-he probably had another one anyway. I didn't. I didn't have anything, and besides, I wasn't about to turn away good luck when it came my way. Because if there was anything I knew, it was that karma didn't like me. So I turned on my heel, fists firmly closed around the bag and fled. I was nearing the outskirts of the town when someone stepped in my way,

"You weren't gonna leave without me were you?" I heard him say. I was running to fast and couldn't stop, so I ran straight into none other than Kid. He tried to stop me and talk, so I just grabbed his arm and started running again.

Phoenix was at my heels, the Wingull was flapping by my head and I was dragging Kid in tow, in the direction of Viridian Forest.


	7. Two Sides to Every Story

**The Almighty  
Chapter 7**

I knew just by looking at her that she was different. That girl with the dark eyes and the skinny Poochyena. She was… Strong. But what kind of strength she had, I hadn't yet figured out.  
After arriving at Kanto following my previous exploits, I knew immediately that something was amiss. This wasn't the Kanto I had heard about. Maybe I just have a sense for these things, but I could feel heaviness in the air, darkness in the shadows that ran deeper than mere lack of light.

The events that took place on the boat only confirmed my suspicions. Those people, those… thugs. They were evidently looking for something, or someone. And I think they were looking for that girl. I need to find out why, what they were doing. If she's in any danger then I can't just let her wander off. I don't know why I feel obligated to help her, but after what happened to me… I just can't let anyone else fall prey to the darkness of others. I couldn't save my friend from the shadows, but maybe I can save this girl.

* * *

My respects paid to the kind ladies who opened their home, I left them with some money for their troubles and headed off in the direction of Viridian Forest. My instinct told me that the girl would continue on her way to Pallet, so I decided to follow suit. My pokemon were currently in their pokeballs-a rare occurrence-so I pulled out a red and white ball emblazoned with a flame curling around the letter 'A'. These pokeballs were the first thing I bought with the substantial money I earned from becoming the Champion in my home region. For each of my pokemon, I ordered a simple pokeball, but had each of their initials engraved, entwined with a signature of their type.  
A beam of red light flashed from the pokeball, materialising a magnificent Arcanine from within. He stretched out his muscles then reared back, letting out a roar to the sky. Spinning around, he looked my way with bright, sparkling eyes and his boyish grin.  
"C'mon boy, we're gonna go exploring in Viridian Forest!" I countered his grin as I wound my hand through his thick mane and pulled myself onto his strong back. With that, we set off at a run for the forest.  
"It's been far too long since we've had an adventure,"  
The breeze carried my laugh along with us.

* * *

As the trees grew thicker and denser, I had to dismount and pick my way through the fallen foliage. Arcane had been following his nose, leading us to the girl. Voices could be heard just ahead, so we pushed our way through the trees and found ourselves face to face with her, and her friend William.  
"What?! You have an _Arcanine?!_ I want one!" William gushed, running over to see Arcane. The two hit it off right away, and I turned my attention to the girl.  
"What are you doing here?" she snarled, her lips curling up at the sight of me.  
Unsure of how to answer this, I stuck with part of the truth,  
"To see if you're okay,"

"I don't need a babysitter," she spat the words at me with such venom that I was a bit taken aback. In all my years, I have only ever heard such animosity from one other person. But that's history now. I have no need to be scared of this girl.

"You need protection. The man on that boat was clearly after you,"

"I can protect myself,"

"With one pokemon? Tell me, what level is your Poochyena?" I couldn't keep the sarcasm out of my voice, which only made her even more hostile. Her pokemon sensed the air and growled a warning at me, stepping forward with raised hackles. In an instant, Arcane was at my side, staring down the Poochyena. The size difference was incredible, yet I had to hand it to the small canine, she didn't back down in the face of Arcane. Instead, she growled again and stepped forward. Arcane was not about to attack a pokemon of such low level, but he didn't appreciate the threat. He retaliated with a snarl and a snapping of his jaw, revealing razor sharp teeth and white hot breath.

"Phoenix, leave the mutt alone. It's not worth our time,"

"Hey, don't call him a mutt! He's lovely!" William said in defence, patting Arcane on the neck. I smiled despite the hostility and stroked Arcane.

For a moment, I pondered on what to do now. This girl clearly did not want any help, but at the same time, she was vulnerable. Her pokemon was an incredibly low level and although she had William, he had no pokemon of his own. A sigh escaped me and the girl immediately glared at me.

"If you are so bored then just go. No one invited you here. In fact, no one wants you here. You have some nerve claiming that I need someone's help. I'll show you. I'll show everyone. One day, I'll be stronger than you. I'll be stronger than every single person who said I wasn't good enough. Just you wait!" she growled.

It almost sounded menacing. Almost. But I knew better.

"And one day you'll realise that strength isn't everything," I countered.  
With that, she turned on her heel and began to walk off in a mood.  
"Don't worry about Alina; she didn't like me at first either. I'll see you around, yeah?" William smiled, full of energy, then bounced off after Alina.

They had hardly walked five steps when a chilling scream ripped through the depths of the forest.


End file.
